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June 26, 2006
Typing Uphill Both Ways
Recently, my keyboard went on the fritz. I have no idea why (note to self: no more glasses of water on the desk) but suddenly, I couldn't type certain letters, like "i" or "s" and every other word or so was typed in all caps so it looked like I was screaming. After a morning of this, I was screaming.
The gods of the computers eventually smiled on me because the next day, I was able to type normally. With a lighter heart -- and a lighter touch on the keyboard -- I tackled the work at hand. It struck me, however, what a valuable lesson I'd learned. Besides the H2O thing. Actually, I learned two lessons.
First: Sometimes you need to walk away from a writing problem. When no amount of smacking the backspace or delete key could rid my screen of the garbled mess, I pushed my chair away from my desk and went out for a walk. Not only was this calming, but I began to think about a story I'd been working on in an entirely new way. I realized I could solve a plot problem using all the elements I'd already created, but in a fresher and more believable way.
Second: I was reminded that, even when one's keyboard is not possessed, writing is hard work. We fight against stuck keys, stuck imaginations and even stuck lives. We get rejected, reviewed and remaindered. And, especially when you write for children, sometimes you "don't get no respect." I find in moments like these that a pity party is just the thing, especially when it includes chocolate or lattes. Or both. Pity parties are great -- as long as they're short. You set your own time limits. Mine are about an hour per rejection, though I did take six months off once, when a book contract was cancelled. But I've never done that again.
Writing is a bit like when your dad went to school -- it is a long walk, uphill, both ways. But it's a long walk I hope I'm taking till I'm about 94 and can't manage one more step.
Posted by kirby at June 26, 2006 07:31 PM
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